Turkey Vulture or another bird screeching/screaming noise

[dismom2005]

For the last few weeks there has been some sort of animal in the woods near my house - I think it's some sort of bird or fowl or something. Whatever it is seems to come out around 1 in the AM and it screeches and screams as it travels in my back yard and wakes me up! Is this some sort of Turkey Vulture? Lately it seems to be coming every evening and the sound is very loud - i'm sure the other neighbors hear it too even though my yard is big and borders the woods. Sometimes it sounds like the screaming is distress or crying, but I think that's just the natural sound of whatever it is.

Please help me get rid of this thing! Any suggestions?

 

[2Kds2K9]

We had the same thing and were told it was a Screetch Owl. When they swoop down to get their prey, they screetch. The first time we heard it, we seriously thought someone was being murdered in our front yard. The sound is gut wrenching.

Good luck!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Turkey Vultures do not screech as far as I know, I have not heard them and they are all around us.

From the Wiki...interesting.

Lacking a syrinx—the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses.

Now red tailed hawks do. They are pretty loud. They screech over us flying 100ft in the air.
I think they are really daytime hunters anyway.

It could be a screech owl.

The Northern Screech-owls are found in Eastern States ec. New Jersey, New York, etc. The Screech-owl are named for their piercing calls. The normal territorial call is not a hoot as with most typical owls, but a trill consisting of more than 4 individual calls per second given in rapid succession (sound of a female human in pain or fear). They also have a kind of "song" which is used in courtship and, as a duet, between members of a pair. Calls differ widely between species in type and pitch, and in the field are often the first indication of these birds' presence, as well as the most reliable means to distinguish between species. The distinctness of many species of screech-owls was first realized when vastly differing calls of externally similar birds from adjacent regions were noted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screech-owl

 

[LukenDC]

Do any of your neighbors have a peacock? They have a call that sounds like something in distress and can be very loud.

 

[Pigeon]

It might also be a nightjar, the anti-songbird. These things make an amazingly awful noise.

 

[java]

One of the WORST noises I have ever heard in my life were Deers mating!
Apparantly male deers let out this scream and then the females scream back. It sounded like someone was getting murdered. We were staying at a B&B when we all woke up the next morning and were at breakfast we heard the Mating tale from the innkeeper.

Now we have deer around here and I've never heard it. Maybe it's just crazy Vermont deer that do that?? But whatever it was = it made us want to get the heck out of there.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

One of the WORST noises I have ever heard in my life were Deers mating!
Apparantly male deers let out this scream and then the females scream back. It sounded like someone was getting murdered. We were staying at a B&B when we all woke up the next morning and were at breakfast we heard the Mating tale from the innkeeper.

Now we have deer around here and I've never heard it. Maybe it's just crazy Vermont deer that do that?? But whatever it was = it made us want to get the heck out of there.

That is funny, sorry.

Rutting season starts here in Nov.

 

[AlleyKat]

We have all sorts of critters in our area, some make noises you'd never expect.

It could be a fox you're hearing. They "shout", especially when calling for a mate, you'd swear a woman was being murdered! Their shout/call also resembles noises a huge bird of prey makes.

I suggest you "google" specific animal noises, you may find the answer within!

 

[karibritt01]

My guess is also a screech owl.

 

[PinkRhombus]

Do any of your neighbors have a peacock? They have a call that sounds like something in distress and can be very loud.

It's probably not one because they're not nocturnal...though they do make funny noises.

 

[dismom2005]

Thanks for all of the replies.

The noise is so strong and loud, and yes, it sounds like someone is being murdered. It's a shrill, long 3 second cry of sorts, that reoccurs every 15-20 seconds give or take. When I hear the sound it seems as if it's coming from the ground, not the air. I don't think it's something living in the trees.

I slammed my upstairs window up and down a few times to scare it off, and soon the sound got further away as whatever it was went back into the woods.

We have tons of deer (we live in Western NJ), foxes, birds of all kinds, etc.

The only other thing I can say about it is that I sometimes see some "droppings" in the yard the night after I hear the darned thing. The droppings are not deer pellets, but droppings that look very black with lots of brown looking sesame seeds or something (gross, sorry).

 

[paintnolish]

I was thinking screech owl. I went camping a few weeks ago and got a rude awakening at 3 a.m. to that sound. My eyes flew open and my heart was pounding for a few seconds until I realized what it was!

 

[minkydog]

When I was a teen we lived way out in the country. It was not uncommon to hear "screaming" down the road(which had no neighbors--we were waaaaaay out in the country.) My dad found the scat and identified it as bobcat. If you ever hear one you will swear that something has carried off a baby.

 

[Cool-Beans]

I'm guessing it's an owl, too.

We have turkey vultures, eagles, owls, coyotes, the occasional peacock and a week or so ago there was a bobcat in the backyard (came halfway down into the yard ) and zillions of deer...but the only things I've heard screetching are the owls.

We have bears, too, but haven't had one in OUR yard yet.

Turkey vultures are ugly as crap, but they're quiet. At least around here.